Title: Indicator of the Evil Eye

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre: Customary Folklore– Superstition

• Language: English

• Country where Item is from: Greece

Informant Data:

• Billy Kosmidis provided us with this piece of folklore. He is a ’19 student at Dartmouth College and lives in Chicago. Both of his parents parents were born in Greece. His mom was born in Tripoli, in the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greece. His father was born in a small town called Alexandria close to Thessaloniki, in northern Greece (historically Macedonian area). All of his cousins, aunts, and grandma live in Greece, and everyone in his family speaks Greek. Billy and his older brother grew up bilingual and were the first two in their family born in America. In his house, they follow many Greek customs and constantly switch between speaking English and Greek based on the topic of conversation or who they are talking to (his dad only speaks Greek to them for the most part). His grandmother spends half the year living in Tripoli and half the year living in Chicago with Billy and his family, so when she is around there is a peak in the number of Greek customs and traditions that are practiced in the house.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This practice is used in people’s homes to find out if they are affected by the evil eye or not. The process is often conducted by a “trained” individual.

• Cultural Context: The Evil Eye is recognized by the church as a legitimate religious phenomena. It is believed that evil is generated by the devil. This belief serves as an explanation for bad things that occur, especially illnesses or pain.

Item:

• The superstition is that if oil mixes in a cup of water, then the person of question is okay, but if the oil spreads then the person is affected by the evil eye. This is a sign superstition (If A, then B).

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

• None

Transcript of Associated File:

• None

Informant’s Comments:

• None

Collector’s Comments:

• We FaceTimed Billy to interview him, as he is studying abroad right now.

Collector’s Name:  Interview conducted by Ellen Pattinson. Webpage published by Carmen Braceras.

Tags/Keywords:

• Evil Eye, Oil, Water, Greek Superstitions, Customary Folklore